Laura, Author at My Little Gourmet

Laura

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins and my Farewell to Blogging

Jun 042014

Hello all!

If you are one to check in here every once in a while, you’ve probably noticed that it has been veeerrryyy quiet for a veeerrryyy long time. I apologize for that. Unfortunately, it is going to remain this quiet for now. Regretfully, I’m going to have to stop this little blogging hobby of mine, due to lack of time and various personal reasons. I do hope, at some point I will be able to start up again. Of course, I will leave all of the existing recipes online for you to have at your disposal.

Since I didn’t want to just leave you all empty-handed, here is one last recipe to try out…something sweet, of course! 🙂 These muffins are the perfect item to bring along to kids birthday parties or potlucks. If your kids don’t mind, some chopped up walnuts are a great addition.

Before I go, I want to thank all of those that have been following my posts and trying out the recipes. I’ve appreciated all of your comments more than you can know. Continue to have fun cooking and I’ll just say, goodbye for now. 🙂

5.0 from 1 reviews

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 24 muffins

Ingredients

1 stick/120g butter, softened
¾ cup/160g sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup/220g sour cream
2 cups/260g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup/about 3 mashed ripened bananas
1 cup/150g chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325℉/160℃.
In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar.
Mix in eggs, vanilla, and sour cream.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and slowly and carefully stir just until combined.
Fold in bananas and chocolate chips.
Pour into greased muffin pan to make 24 muffins.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes until lightly browned. An inserted toothpick should come out clean.
Allow muffins to cool a little, remove from muffin pan, and cool completely on a rack.

Recipe adapted from I Heart Nap Time.

Pineapple and Coconut Smoothie

Drinks 1 Response »

Mar 282014

Since it’s been raining here a lot lately, we decided to have a family movie day this week. I’ve been promising Arik this for a while now, so I was happy to finally get around to it. He picked out Ratatouille to watch, I popped popcorn, we stretched out on the couch and spent the afternoon there.

At halftime, I made this pineapple coconut smoothie to try and bring some summer feeling into the place. It totally worked! 🙂 If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend having a movie day. It really is fun and relaxing for everyone involved (which often times is not the case with toddler activities) and it is a great change-up to those busy weekday afternoons. Oh and the smoothie; I highly recommend that too. It just sweetened up the whole day! 🙂

Pineapple and Coconut Smoothie

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

1 cup (about 2 handfuls) pineapple chunks
1 cup/240ml coconut milk
1 cup (about 2 handfuls) ice cubes
½ cup/120ml milk
1-2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
some shredded coconut, toasted, for garnish

Instructions

Combine all of the ingredients except for the shredded coconut in a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into glasses, top with toasted coconut and serve immediately.

Notes

*To toast the shredded coconut, just dry-roast in a pan over medium heat until golden brown.
*Unfortunately, this smoothie cannot be made ahead of time and should be served immediately after mixing.

Recipe from My Colombian Recipes

This time last year: Lighter Sesame Chicken

Spaghetti Pie

Main Dishes 1 Response »

Mar 152014

Spaghetti pie is a fairly new idea to me…I know, I’ve been living under a rock. My mom-in-law introduced me to it, when she made it for us on our last visit home about a year ago. As soon as I saw how much Arik enjoyed it, I knew it needed a spot in the blog.

And here I am, a whole year later, finally posting this delicious recipe. I always use this recipe for meat sauce or bolognese, since it’s got lots of veggies in it. My freezer is pretty much never without it, which is a good thing since it is such a versatile sauce. If you don’t have any frozen away and don’t feel like making a new batch, you could always just use your favorite jarred version. Once you have the sauce, the rest of the process is easy as pie 🙂 so give it a try. Your kids will love the idea of spaghetti as a pie!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Spaghetti Pie

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 6

Ingredients

8oz./240g whole-grain spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter
3 full tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 cup/250g cottage cheese
2 cups/500ml bolognese sauce or store-bought pasta sauce with meat
¾cup/100g mozzarella cheese, grated

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350℉/175℃.
In a medium bowl, combine cooked spaghetti, egg whites, butter, and parmesan cheese.
Press the pasta mixture into a greased 9in/23cm pie dish.
Spread the the cottage cheese over the pasta.
Spread the pasta sauce on top of that and bake, un-covered, for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake for a further 5-10 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.
Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

This time last year: The American Classic: Meatloaf

Mandarin Orange and Cookie Yogurt Parfait

Desserts 2 Responses »

Mar 022014

Do you guys ever find yourselves stumped over what to make for visitors/guests? I do this a lot! I usually end up investing so much time/effort into the actual meal, that dessert is either non-existent or not worth mentioning. If you tend to do this too, then I’ve got the perfect dessert for you.

It doesn’t require too many ingredients and can be made ahead of time. Also, it’s borderline healthy when it comes to desserts and your guests will be totally impressed, not knowing it took you less than 30 minutes to prepare. Oh yeah, and did I mention it’s delicious?

I’ve made this numerous times, and every time I end up using a different kind of cookie. My all time favorite was Pepperidge Farms Double Chocolate Brownie Cookie! You can use your favorite store-bought cookie, or if you’re feeling ambitious, you could bake these chocolate chip cookies yourself. 🙂 Either way this dessert is a winner and your days fretting over what to make for guests are over.

An easy-to-make yogurt parfait dessert from mylittlegourmet.com

Arik insisted that his dinosaur would make the perfect addition to the photo. 🙂

Mandarin Orange and Cookie Yogurt Parfait

Prep time

20 mins

Total time

20 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 6

Ingredients

7 mandarin oranges or tangerines
1 package of chocolate cookies (about 5oz. or 150g)
2 cups/500g quark, may be substituted with plain or plain greek yogurt
3-4 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup whipping cream
chocolate sprinkles for topping

Instructions

Fillet the oranges (step-by-step instructions).
Break up the cookies into smaller pieces.
In a medium bowl, stir together quark or yogurt with sugar and vanilla.
Whip the cream and fold into the quark/yogurt mixture.
Layer the cream, cookies, and mandarin oranges in 6 glasses.
Top each one with a last dollop of cream and some chocolate sprinkles.

Recipe from Lecker on Foodboard.de

This time last year: Tortilla Pinwheels with Turkey, Cheese and Avocado

Ham and Broccoli Pasta Bake

Main Dishes Comments Off

Feb 222014

I am a huge fan of casseroles. They’re almost always tasty, they’re easy to make, and best of all…you usually have enough left-overs for a second day. And this casserole is no exception.

You probably already have most of these ingredients in your pantry so there’s not much shopping to do. If your kids aren’t opposed to garlic mix a pressed clove in with the panko and butter for the topping. Sooo yummy! If you guys are as big a fans of casseroles as I am, you should give this Tuna Casserole or this Enchilada Casserole a try as well.

Ham and Broccoli Pasta Bake

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

Author: Laura

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1½ cups/360ml milk
1 cup/240ml water
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 small cubes or teaspoons of vegetable bouillon
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon black pepper
8oz./250g whole-grain penne pasta
1 head/18oz./500g Broccoli, cut into little florets
7oz./200g cooked ham, chopped into cubes
7oz./200g shredded cheddar or gouda cheese
¾cup/40g panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃.
In a large pot, whisk together milk, water, corn starch and bouillon until corn starch has dissolved.
Place the pot on medium heat and stir in garlic powder, poultry seasoning, mustard and pepper.
Once the mixture comes to a simmer, take off the heat and set aside.
In the meantime, bring about 2 quarts/2 liters of water to boil in a large pot.
Once boiling, add the pasta and broccoli and cook for 6 minutes.
Strain the pasta and broccoli, return to pot and add cubed ham.
Add the cheese to the cream sauce and stir until mixed, but not melted.
Pour the cheese sauce into the large pot and mix with the noodle mixture until well-coated.
Transfer everything to a greased 9x13in (23x33cm) casserole dish and gently pat down using a spatula.
In a small bowl mix the panko with the melted butter and sprinkle over casserole.
Cover casserole with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove casserole from oven and allow it to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

* If your family likes garlic, mix a pressed clove in with the panko and butter before topping the casserole with it.
* If you use a pasta other than penne be sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Recipe adapted from PBS Parents Kitchen Explorers.

This time last year: Smoked Salmon and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Hazelnut Chocolate Milk

Drinks 4 Responses »

Feb 082014

Arik is a huge fan of all things that can be consumed through a straw. That is why we frequently have this smoothie for breakfast or have various “milkshakes” such as a banana milk, this strawberry milk or this week, we tried something new, and had this hazelnut milk…with chocolate, of course.

This milk is not only delicious, it’s quite informative too. For instance, after drinking some, it informed me that I have suddenly developed an allergy to hazelnuts. I made a couple of glasses for Arik and myself, had a sip, and my throat started itching a little. Hmm, strange, I thought, must be getting a cold, oh well, back to my delicious glass of milk. After half of the glass was gone and my throat was itching like crazy, the nurse in me finally came out and I stopped drinking.

After a couple of hours, I ate a hazelnut because I wanted to be absolutely certain. And low and behold, the itching started again. Shoot! Hazelnuts are my favorite nut of all time! Arik was really empathetic of course, and asked if I was full when I stopped drinking. Before I was done answering, he had taken the glass, finished off the milk and proudly said, “Look mama, I helping you!”

Hazelnut Chocolate Milk

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 2

Ingredients

¾ cup/100g hazelnuts
some water for soaking
2 cups/480ml milk
1-2 tablespoons chocolate syrup or powder

Instructions

Soak the hazelnuts in water overnight.
Drain the hazelnuts and place them in a food processor with the milk.
Blend well and then strain the milk over a cheese cloth.
Pour the milk into glasses and add chocolate syrup as desired.

Notes

*This hazelnut/milk ration is quite mild so if you prefer it to taste nuttier be sure add more hazelnuts or reduce the milk.
*If you want this to be dairy-free, just replace the milk with water.
*Rather than just tossing out the left-over hazelnuts, you could use them for baking!

Lentil Soup with Sausage and Kale

Soups 7 Responses »

Feb 012014

Winter has arrived. To be honest I had already decided we weren’t having a real winter this year and was getting myself excited for spring, and now this! Snow, ice and temperatures down to -15 C (5 F). I mean, around Christmas time this kind of weather is fine and I’ll even go so far as to say I like it, but now? Shoudn’t winter be wrapping up and moving on at this point?

Well, to deal with this I decided to make us a big pot of piping hot delicious lentil soup. I’ve tried my fair share of lentil soup recipes and was never quite satisfied (Arik wasn’t either :)). Then recently, I stumbled across this recipe and had to try it. It doesn’t taste like your typical lentil soup, which I love. I left the garlic oil off of Arik’s portion, but all of the adult portions should definitely include it.

I hope this weather ends soon, but until then lets just stuff our faces with lots of delicious hot soup. What is your favorite soup on a cold day?

* I should add, that I wrote this post a few days ago and today Berlin is filled with sunshine and is a toasty 5 degrees C (41 degrees F). Things are looking up! 🙂

5.0 from 2 reviews

Lentil Soup with Sausage and Kale

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

70 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 6

Ingredients

½ cup/120 ml olive oil
2 links of Italian sausage or bratwurst, casings removed
1 med. onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
4 cloves of garlic, pressed (reserve half for later)
1 cup/160g brown lentils, rinsed
2 bay leaves
1 28oz/800g can crushed tomatoes
5 cups/1200ml water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-4 cups/300g chopped kale, fresh or frozen (if frozen, thawed and liquid squeezed out)
shredded Parmesan cheese for topping

Instructions

Heat ¼ cup/60ml olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a large pot) on medium heat.
Add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it starts to brown (about 5 minutes).
Add the onion, carrot, celery, 2 pressed garlic cloves and some salt to the pot. Cook another 5 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften.
Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, water and some salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 45-60 minutes or until the lentils and vegetables are soft and soup is at the consistency you prefer. (You may have to add more water if the soup gets too thick)
When the lentils are cooked, add the kale and cook for a few minutes more until soft.
While the kale cooks heat the rest of the olive oil (1/4cup/60ml) in a small skillet and add the pressed garlic. Cook just until the garlic sizzles and softens.
Remove the bay leaves from the soup and top each portion with some Parmesan cheese and a teaspoon of the garlic oil for the adults.

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime-Dressing

Salads Comments Off

Jan 252014

I’m baaack! If you follow my Facebook page then you know that I was a little preoccupied last week with colds and a non-sleeping child. I’m still working on the non-sleeping child part, but all of the colds are gone and we are back to healthy.

When the whole family all of a sudden came down with a cold last week, I came to the conclusion, that we need more vitamins in our life and decided to make this yummy fruit salad. The dressing is really simple, yet it adds so much to the salad. If your kids like mint I highly recommend chopping up a few leaves and mixing them in with the dressing. Arik unfortunately doesn’t like mint so I ended up just adding some to my portion.

So if you guys have found yourselves and your kids bringing home colds this winter, give this healthy immune boosting salad a try. What am I talking about, you should try this one regardless, it is THAT good! 🙂

Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime-Dressing

Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 mango, peeled and chopped
9oz./250g strawberries, chopped
12oz./350g/about ½ a bunch of grapes, halved
4.5oz./1 cup/125g blueberries

For the Dressing:

1 lime, juiced
1-1.5 tablespoons honey, depending on how sweet you want it
handful mint leaves (optional), chopped

Instructions

Mix all of the fruit together in a large bowl.
Whisk together the lime juice, honey and mint (if using).
Pour dressing over fruit, mix well and serve.

Recipe from Oh! You Cook!

Taco Stroganoff

Main Dishes 5 Responses »

Jan 102014

Happy New Year!! Did you all have nice holidays? It’s been pretty hectic around here these last few weeks, which is also the reason the blog has been so quiet. Despite the hecticness, we’ve had an amazing holiday. We met up with my mom-in-law in Paris and also went to Disneyland Paris. Arik preferred the latter, since he got to meet all of his favorite characters, live and in-person, but the Eiffel Tower did seem to impress him as well. 🙂

Then we all travelled back to Berlin and spent Christmas at home. It was really nice having some family (even if it was just one person) around for the holidays. Arik was also really excited to have grandma and all of this new-found attention. New Year’s Eve was spent at home with a Raclette dinner and some kid’s fireworks. And then, sadly, we had to say goodbye to grandma and go back to normal life. Now my brother is here so Arik is back to getting lots of extra attention. I’m thinking once he departs as well, Arik is going to take a while getting used to having just his boring old parents around. 🙂

So, as you can see we’ve been pretty busy and I haven’t had much time to spend in the kitchen. That is why this week’s recipe is really quick and incredibly easy. I know, with all that cheese, it isn’t exactly the healthiest, but it IS delicious. 🙂 It’s sort of a tex-mex take on beef stroganoff using taco seasoning, corn and cheese. Well, I hope you all had a great start to the year and I am excited to see what 2014 has in store for us!

Taco Stroganoff

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 4

Ingredients

8 oz./250g egg noodles
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb./500g ground beef
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 package taco seasoning mix
½ cup/125ml water
¾ cup/200g corn, I used canned, but frozen should work too
1 (8oz./240g) package chive and onion cream cheese
1 cup/100g shredded cheese (I used gouda, but cheddar or mexican cheese mix would also be great)

Instructions

Cook noodles according to package instructions.
In a large pan over medium heat, cook onions and ground beef until beef is browned.
Tilt pan and remove any excess fat.
Add bell pepper and cook another 2-3 minutes.
Add taco seasoning, water, and corn and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add cream cheese and shredded cheese; cook until heated through and cheeses are melted.
Toss with egg noodles and serve.

Recipe adapted from Julie’s Eats and Treats.

Christmas Tree Egg In a Hole

Breakfast, Holidays 2 Responses »

Dec 202013

Egg in a Hole is something we eat quite often in our family, since it is so easy to make and delicious to eat. This christmas tree version though, is something new I tried and Arik absolutely loved it. He almost wanted to just keep the tree and not eat it…almost! 🙂

We will definitely be having this breakfast again on Christmas morning. This way no-one (aka me) has to spend the morning in the kitchen whipping up something fancy, yet we still get to have a festive breakfast. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas filled with lots of family, fun and food and I will see you all next year!! Muaah!

Christmas Tree Egg Nest

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 1

Ingredients

Butter for the pan
1 piece of bread; I used whole-wheat
1 egg
bell pepper for garnish

Instructions

Place a pan over medium heat and add some butter.
While the butter is melting, take a slice of bread and use a christmas tree cookie cutter to cut out a hole in the center of the bread.
Place the bread in the hot pan, break the egg into the hole, cover and allow to cook for a few minutes. Be sure to also cook the cut-out piece of toast (the tree) on the side.
Once the egg has set enough, flip the bread and cook for about 30-60 seconds more, depending on how done you want your egg.
While the egg is cooking, cut out a star and some strips using a yellow and a red bell pepper.
Place the bread and egg onto a plate and garnish with the bell pepper and serve with your cut-out piece of tree toast as a dipper.

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